President Bush's re-election campaign insisted on knowing the race of an Arizona Daily Star journalist assigned to photograph Vice President Dick Cheney.

The Star refused to provide the information.

Cheney is scheduled to appear at a rally this afternoon at the Pima County Fairgrounds.

A rally organizer for the Bush-Cheney re-election campaign asked Teri Hayt, the Star's managing editor, to disclose the journalist's race on Friday. After Hayt refused, the organizer called back and said the journalist probably would be allowed to photograph the vice president.

"It was such an outrageous request, I was personally insulted," Hayt said later.

Danny Diaz, a spokesman for the president's re-election campaign, said the information was needed for security purposes.

"All the information requested of staff, volunteers and participants for the event has been done so to ensure the safety of all those involved, including the vice president of the United States," he said.

Diaz repeated that answer when asked if it is the practice of the White House to ask for racial information or if the photographer, Mamta Popat, was singled out because of her name. He referred those questions to the U.S. Secret Service, which did not respond to a call from the Star Friday afternoon.

Hayt declined to speculate on whether Popat was racially profiled, but said she is deeply concerned.

"One has to wonder what they were going to do with that information," Hayt said. "Because she has Indian ancestry, were they going to deny her access? I don't know."

Journalists covering the president or vice president must undergo a background check and are required to provide their name, date of birth and Social Security number. The Star provided that information Thursday for Popat and this reporter.

"That's all anybody has been asked to provide," said Hayt, adding that this is the first time in her 26-year career that a journalist's race was made an issue.

Organizer Christine Walton asked for Popat's race in telephone conversations with two other Star editors before she spoke to Hayt. They also refused to provide the information. Walton told Hayt that Popat's race was necessary to allow the Secret Service to distinguish her from someone else who might have the same name.

"It was a very lame excuse," Hayt said.

Popat, a photographer with six years' experience, was on assignment Friday and unaware of the controversy. But she said she was glad the Star refused. "My race shouldn't have anything to do with my job," she said.

Tickets are required for the public to attend the rally, which begins at 12:50 p.m. All tickets were distributed by Friday.

It is the government's policy to know your race if you do any kind of business with them. It was on the census form, it's required to apply for scholarships, required to enlist for military service, etc. It's been that way ever since LBJ's Great Society... but somehow Bush is to blame?

It is the government's policy to know your race if you do any kind of business with them. It was on the census form, it's required to apply for scholarships, required to enlist for military service, etc. It's been that way ever since LBJ's Great Society... but somehow Bush is to blame?

Click to expand...

...Journalists covering the president or vice president must undergo a background check and are required to provide their name, date of birth and Social Security number. The Star provided that information Thursday for Popat and this reporter.

...Journalists covering the president or vice president must undergo a background check and are required to provide their name, date of birth and Social Security number. The Star provided that information Thursday for Popat and this reporter.

Click to expand...

That's right.
This story is absurd.
The secret service could find out what she likes for breakfast, given that info.
I'm not suggesting that the Bush admin. is racist, but whatever the motivation this "rally organizer" was WAY out of line.

Which, of course, means that anything having to do with race should be completely removed from public: records, hiring quotas, affirmative action for employment or education, no more urban blight endowments, black sororities/fraternities...

it cuts both ways, either race IS important and this is a valid question or IT IS NOT important and any discrimination based upon is is invalid.

Wouldnt the logical reason for this be for a security card to get close to the President or something like that? I mean it helps to know what the person looks like if they are going to get close to the president or vice president isnt it? if we didnt know we might have some terrorist guy take out the reporter and sneak it unaware?

I dont know the reason. by why are you guys so darn quick to jump on the race card when race is hardly an issue most of the time.

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